Robbie Elliott has warned Manchester United that Newcastle will not be shaken off in the pursuit of this season's Premiership crown, despite the reigning champions' sudden mid-season charge.

Robbie Elliott has warned Manchester United that Newcastle will not be shaken off in the pursuit of this season's Premiership crown, despite the reigning champions' sudden mid-season charge.

The Magpies' 0-0 draw at Leicester on Saturday allowed Sir Alex Ferguson's side to open up a two-point lead at the top of the table and a Red Devils victory against an out-of-sorts Liverpool tomorrow would leave Bobby Robson's men five points adrift.

However Elliott, who followed up his impressive performance against Leeds last week with another uncompromising defensive display at Filbert Street, is confident Newcastle can continue to play their part in a fascinating title race.

"We would like another league game this week because we don't want to let them get away," said the Gosforth-born full-back, involved in two nail-biting championship battles with Manchester United in the past.

"We have some momentum going and we want to keep the pressure on at Old Trafford. They seem to have had their bad run and they've come into form at just the right time.

"But we know that we have to make their lives as difficult as possible and, if we're close to them at the end of the season, we'll have a great chance of winning the league."

If Newcastle are to end a 75-year wait for a league title, they will have to learn to beat sides like Leicester without playing the free-flowing football they have become famed for this season.

And Elliott accepts that, with Manchester United winning and Liverpool, Leeds and Arsenal only picking up a point at the weekend, the visitors missed a golden opportunity to cement their Premiership credentials at Filbert Street.

"The feeling before and after the game was that we needed the win against Leicester and we desperately wanted the victory," he added. "There were a few grim faces after the full-time whistle.

"Their pressure was intense in the first half, but we had the possession

and the chances to win it after the beak and it's two points lost rather than a point gained. Leicester played well in terms of being aggressive and closing us down from the front. But we knew they would tire and we expected to finish them off in the second half."

Alan Shearer, usually the player Robson can count on when his team need a goal most, spurned the best chance of the game when he headed wide from a tempting Laurent Robert cross, but neither side created many clear-cut opportunities on an afternoon when defences dominated.

Elliott emphasised the point when he added: "It was nice to keep another clean sheet and as long as we keep doing that then we won't drop off the pace. At Filbert Street we just couldn't put away the couple of half-chances which came our way.

"It was important that we didn't lose and, although things didn't go as planned, we still have the confidence and belief to move on.

"After Tottenham we have a couple of home games and there's no reason why we can't pick up a lot of points in the next few weeks."

Andy O'Brien, back to his combative best against Leeds, was the unlucky victim of a tactical switch which saw Nikos Dabizas and Sylvain Distin back together at the heart of Shay Given's defence.

It is not the first time Robson has tinkered with his back four this season, but Elliott endorsed a policy which is designed to get the most out of Newcastle's defenders over a long and arduous season.

"If the manager is going to change the look of the defence then he will always give us plenty of time to prepare in the week before and we recognise each other's strengths by now," explained the former Bolton full-back.

"I know that most defenders prefer to play in a settled back four, but suspensions and injuries are foremost in the manager's mind.

"He rested Andy O'Brien against Leicester because Nikos is suspended for this weekend's FA Cup tie and an injury to Andy would have left us stretched.

"Also he's on four bookings and he's such an important player to us that there's no point risking another suspension."